Hi, it’s Thursday, Feb. 4 and it’s been over a month since my last video message so I’ll start off with a very belated happy New Year to all of you.
FURLOUGH NEWS
We got a little bit of encouraging news yesterday with the governor’s announcement that furloughs were not necessary during this year. I could have easily said, “told you so.” Most certainly we are at a time when things are evolving rapidly, and as we have said in previous messages, the governor’s pronouncement of furloughs and expectation that furloughs were necessary was rather premature. I think that’s been borne out by what has happened.
We have seen, first our legislature take proactive steps to make sure our budget and revenue are stabilized, at least for the time, and now we look at Congress with a renewed optimism now that the Democrats are in control of not only the Presidency but the U.S. House and Senate. While things are not yet settled in Washington, D.C. in terms of the President’s $1.9 trillion dollar package, it is a more favorable situation than what we were seeing in November or December of last year. So we are not out of the woods. The state is still dependent on rebuilding tourism and the revenue picture is still dependent on being able to increase general excise tax collections, but the picture is brighter. And now with the rollout of the vaccine, that is something that will give us even greater optimism.
VACCINATION ROLLOUT
We are seeing increased calls to HGEA. We are hearing from members asking, “What about the vaccine?” and “Where am I in line and when am I going to get it?” We certainly don’t have the answer to the when part — that is dependent on the Department of Health, as well as the supply. There has been an increase in the supply both here locally and across the country now that President Biden is in office. Turns out Trump was pulling all of our legs when he said there was a national stockpile. We know now that there was no such thing. But as the vaccine is being made available, and with the encouraging news of the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine, we should see things happening as early as this month.
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES ARE GROUP 1B OR 1C
We are aware that government employees are being determined to be in either group 1b or 1c so we should see the vaccine being made available to rank and file employees — all of you who have been on the frontlines. It’s already happening in some departments and is being scheduled for the university, I believe next week. So it’s happening.
WHY IS THE GOV NOT ALLOWING LEAVE TIME FOR STATE EMPLOYEES TO GET THE SHOT?
The big question is, why has the governor not allowed work time for vaccinations? It’s our understanding that the City & County of Honolulu, the Judiciary, the Department of Education, the counties as well as a number of private businesses are all allowing work time for employees who wish to get vaccinated — and it is voluntary — but so far the state is saying that employees must take personal time. That has been implemented, for example, with the Department of Public Safety. That’s ridiculous as far as I’m concerned. The idea is to get shots in arms and get as many people vaccinated as possible so we can achieve so-called herd immunity as soon as possible.
If we can get people vaccinated quickly we can find our state in a very different place. Not back to the old normal but certainly a better place. To that end I wrote and sent a letter to the governor a couple of days ago strongly urging him to consider allowing administrative time for employees to be vaccinated. It’s the right thing to do. It really is. It is the right thing from a public health standpoint and frankly for all of you who have been going to work every day, risking infection, it is the right thing to do by all of you. I certainly hope the governor does the right thing.
ISSUES WITH TRAVEL RULES FOR EMPLOYEES
We are continuing to monitor the situation in every agency. There are different problems popping up, such as issues with travel rules, and we are working to get that resolved.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
We just began the 2021 legislative session. There are a lot of bills that require monitoring and virtual testimony. The dominant issue will be the budget but there will also be other interesting things that the legislature will be looking at including addressing things like the powers of the governor in an emergency and the question of whether there will be gaming allowed on Hawaiian Home Lands.
Stay tuned to our website and eBulletins as our staff will keep you informed. Meanwhile we will provide any information that we can regarding the vaccination plans. We have asked each employer jurisdiction to provide us their plan. We will provide all of this information as we get it. If you have any questions by all means contact our staff.
BE SAFE ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
Hang in, stay safe and particularly this weekend, no matter who you cheer for watching the Super Bowl, no parties, wear your mask, keep your distance and let’s not make the Super Bowl a superspreading event.
Take care and I hope to be talking with all of you soon.
*For Randy’s full message, please watch the video.
(HGEA member login required to watch video. Thank you for your patience, closed captioning will be available 1-2 hours after this eBulletin is sent.)
